Braiding machine



Dec. 8, 1925- 1,564,697

G. F. M CAHEY Bnunme momma:

Filed May 21, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 45 46' I Jwvenhz Dec. 8 1925; I1,564,697

G. F. M CAHEY BRAIDING MACHINE Filed May 21, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

4 660%98 fl/c a ey 21 MWKZ/Ma Dec. 8, 1925. 1.564.697

G. F. M CAHEY BRAIDING MACHINE Filed May 21, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 figs@0 6 [wad/,

Q7M v Patented Dec. 8, i925.

STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. MGCAHEY, 0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLANI), ASSIGNQR TO 3'. M.BRAIDER, ING, OF EA$T PROVIDENCE, RHQDE ISLAND, A CORPGRATIQN OF RHODEISLAND.

BRAIDING Application filed May 21,

Z '0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE F. MOCAHEY, a citizen'ot' the United States,residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of RhodeIsland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in BraidingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to braiding machines of the class provided withoscillating carriers, and has tor its object to provide in such amachine spaced-apart upper and lower raceways and means locatedintermediate these raceways tor driving the carriers through theraceways whereby the upper portion of the carrier is caused to oscillateto compensate in a large measure for the in-and-out movements oi thecarrier relatively to the braiding center, causing its yarn deliveringeye to take a course more nearly in a true circle about the braidingpoint and so materially reduce the action of the usual yarn take-up inthe carrier.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a set of drivinggears for the carrier, each being slotted to engage a portion 01 thecarrier to advance it through the raceway, said gears being providedwith teeth which are staggered and these teeth being arranged to provideentrance guides for the opposite side walls of these driving slots tofacilitate the entering and leaving of the carrier shank to and from theslot in passing from one gear to the other on its way through theserpentine raceway.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction, as will be more fully de scribed, andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section illustrating the upperand lower raceway plates with the driving gears set intermediate saidplates to engage portions of said carrier to drive the same.

Figure 2 is a fragmental top view show ing portions of the top platewith its modified form of raceway formed therein also showing in dottedlines the serpentine raceway in the lower plate and illustrating theaction of the driving gears in passing the carrier from the slot in onegear to that in the next for the purpose of driving the carrier throughthe raceways.

IHACHINE.

1924 Serial No. 714,806.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a fragmental portion of both theupper and lower raceway plates with a portion of the carrier mountedtherein.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the guide shoe of the carrierwhich runs in the upper raceway.

Figure 5 is a top view of the guide shoe and its plate which runs in thelower raceway.

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of the shoe with its plate which runsin the lower raceway.

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the fragmental portion of thegear which is formed of a pair of superimposed plates, each beingperipherically slotted and provided with teeth and these plates areconnected together so that their respective slots will register andtheir respective teeth will be in staggered relation relatively to eachother, a tooth in each opposite plate serving as a flaring guide on theopposite side walls of the slots.

Figure 8 is a plan view showing segmental portions of a pair of gearswith their staggered teeth intermeshing and their slots registering.

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the lower portion of the carrier partlyin section showing the anti-friction roll sleeve on its shank 28.

It is found in practice in the operation of braiding machines in orderto obtain a high degree of speed, of advantage to reduce the extent ofthe in and out motions of the carrier relatively to the braiding centerwhich in the old style machines the raceway is caused by following theserpentine or figure 8 form of raceway. To obviate this detrimentaleffect, I have provided a machine with upper and lower raceways set outof vertical alignment with each other, the upper raceway running muchnearer to a true circle than the lower raceway, and the carrier beingconstructed with an offset portion and arranged to engage both the upperand lower raceways whereby when revolved about a common braiding centerthe carrier is caused to receive an oscillating motion to swing its yarnguiding eye in and out towards and from the center to compensate in ameasure for the opposite movements of the body of the carrier, wherebythe guide eye for the thread will run in substantially a circle thusrequirlllg but a slight movement of the yarn takeup in the carrier; andthe following is a detailed description of one construction of mechanismby which these advantageous results may be obtained:

With reference to the drawings, 10 designates, the base-plate of myimproved braiding machine in which is formed the lower raceway 11 whichis in the usual figure 8 form, and this plate is provided with sidewalls 12 forming a chamber 13 in which the driving gears, presentlydescribed, are mounted. On these side walls 13 is mounted the upperraceway plate letwhich is provided with raceways 15 arranged to run withbut a slight oi'i'set on either side oi a circle passing through thecenters of the quoits 16.

In order to provide a carrier which is supported and controlled in itsaction by the operation of these upper and lower race- Ways 11 and 15, Ihave formed a weight or tension standard 17 on which hoth the bottom andtop weights 18 and it slide and on the upper end of each standardisformed a yarn guide eye 20, the yarn package being carried on thespindle 21 which is supported on the laterally-extending, lower arm Onthe lower end of this weight standard, I have formed a bearing portionwhich extends through and oscillates in a hole 24 in the shoe 25.

This shoe is adapted to run and be guided in the upper raceway 15; thelower end of this hearing member 23 extends through and is fixed in anarm 26 in the lower portion of the carrier by a pin 2'? or it may beotherwise fixed therein. The arm has an under bearing portion 4:6 thatrests on the upper surface of the driving gear.

The opposite end of this arm 26 is connected to an elongated, verticalbearing shank portion 28 of the carrier preferably having ananti-friction roll or outer shell 28 which extends through the drivinggears and the lower end of this shank is provided with a bearing in theshoe member 80, which shoe ha an elongated projection ill arranged torun in the lower raceway ll. The upper portion of this shoe-men'iber isin disk form being recessed as at- 32 to carry a supply of oil whichlubricates its seat through the hole and a disk-plate 33 is provided onthe shank portion 28 to bear against the under side of the driving gearto support the carrier shank in upright position.

In order to provide means for driving this carrier through its upper andlower raceways, l have formed a train of gears 34, each gear beingpreferably constructed of a pair of disks and each having teeth 35 and36 cut on its periphery, and also being slotted as at 37 at intervalsabout its circumference.

ewes? These two disks are then set and permanently connected together sothat their slots 37 will register with each other and their teeth and 86will be in staggered relation to each other, as best illustrated inFigure 7.

"When so arranged the tooth 38 on the upper portion of the gear servesas an extcnsion of the side wall 39 of the slot 37, and the tooth it) onthe lower portion of the gear serves as an extension of the oppositeside wall ll of the slot 37 whereby these teeth 38 and 410 cooperate toform guiding horns on the gear to assist in receiving and transferringthe portion 28 of the carrier from one gear to another in its travelabout the raceway.

The lower member of each gear is .provided with a hub 12 which restsupon the lower quoit and through this gear extends a bearing stud (i l,the lower end of which is secured by a nut on the threaded extension1-6, while the upper end of this stud serve to support the quoit 1.6 inthe upper raceway.

It will he observed that the gears thus formed serve as an elongatedbearing for the shank portion 28 of the carrier. It will also beobserved that by forming the gears tw separate disks and positioningthese disks so as to cause the teeth 35 and 36 to bear a relativelystaggering relation, three important results are obtained: first, thegears may be slotted vertically to receive the shank portion 28 of thecarrier and pro vide an elongated bearing therefor; second, the naturalformation of the teeth serves to provide a flaring opening into the slot37 and third, by so positioning these teeth but a single tooth of eachof the gear disks is removed and then by staggering these teeth solittle of the stock between the teeth is removed that the intermeshingteeth of the adjacent gears are held when in mesh against any backlashing of lost motion at their slotted meeting edges when opposite theslots thereby causing these gears to run smoothly and without noisewhich is not possible with any other construction of gears in which aportion of the teeth is removed. In other words, in operating a highsperd braiding machine of this character, it is net'- essry in order toreduce the wear and tear of the mechanism to the minimum to prevent anyback lash or lost motion between the teeth of the driving gears, and inorder to produce this effect and permit a portion of the carrier to bassdown through the gears to engage both upper and lower raceways, it isnecessary that the teeth of the gears be staggered as above described.

In the operation of my improved braiding machine the lower portion ofthe carrier below the upper r ceway plate 14- caused to follow theserpentine path of the lower raceway 11 while that portion of thecarrier engaging the shoe 25 is caused to tollow the raceway 15.

Now as the lower portion moves in and out towards and from the center agreater distance than the upper portion controlled by the shoe 25, thelower portion naturally swings the yarn package standard which ismounted on the offset arm 22 back and forth in unison with the swingingmovement of the lower portion of the carrier, while the weight standard17 rotates on its pivotal point 23 in the shoe 25. The oscillatingmovement of this weight standard necessarily causes its eye-member 20out through which the yarn 47 is led, to oscillate back and forth indirections which are opposite to the in and out movements of the shoemember 25 owing to the fact that this eye is on the opposite side of thevertical center line through the standard, thus this eye counteracts ina measure the in and out movements of the weight standard and serves tocarry the lead eye of the yarn in nearly a circular line through thecenters of the upper quoits thereby reducing to the minimum thenecessary take-up movement of the yarn take-up weight 18 or other deviceemployed for that purpose.

It is found of advantage in braiding machines of this character toprovide a stop motion for arresting the action of the machine when thethread breaks or runs out, and to do this in a simple and eilective way,I have mounted a disk 42 on the hollow,

upright shaft 43 through which the braiding core 41-6 passes and whichextends down through the center of the machine to oper ate upon thedriving mechanism in any of the usual ways (not shown). This disk plateis provided with peripheral projections 44 arranged to engage the horns4-5 on the weight 18 when the latter drops due to breakage or runningout of the thread. It will be noted that these engaging projections Mron the stop disk extend into the path oi the carrier only when it istraveling through the straight portion of the raceway at which time theoffset or shank portion 28 is being revolved or carried in the arc of acircle by its gear about the weight standard 17 and at which time theweight with its knock oti' horns 45 are traveling at a greatly reducedspeed which is the logical time to engage the stop motion as at thattime the shock of contact is reduced to the minimum.

My improved braiding machine is simple and practical in construction andby its use great braiding speed is obtained.

The toregoing description is directed solely towards the constructionillustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve theprr-Jilcge of resorting to all of the me chanical changes to-which thedevice is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only bythe terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a braiding machine, spaced upper and lower fixed raceway plates,the raceway in said lower plate being of a depth less than the thicknessof said plate, a carrier guided in and extending through said upperplate and having its lower end guided in the raceway oi said lowerplate, and a train of driving gears intermeshing with each other andoperatively mounted intermediate the raceways for driving said carrier.

2. In a braiding machine spaced upper and lower raceway plates havingraceways of different contours, a carrier having guide portions to runin both raceways, and a tra'ii oi driving gears intermcshing with eachother intermediate said plates for driving said carrier in said racewayswhereby it is caused to oscillate as it travels.

S. In a braiding machine, spaced upper and lower fixed plateshavingraceways therein, the raceway in the lower plate having a closingbottom wall. to form an oil tight raceway groove, a carrier guided inthe raceways of both of said plates, a train of driving gearsintermeshing with each other and mounted intermediate said plates, andprovided with means for engaging a portion of said carrier intermediatethe race ways for driving the same.

4:. In a braiding machine, spaced upper. and lower fixed plates havingraceways therein, the raceway in the lower plate having a closing bottomwall to form an oiltight raceway groove, a carrier guided in theraceways of both of said plates, a car' rier driving gear operativelymounted intermediate said plates toothcd to intcrmesh with adjacent.gears and. slotted to engage a portion of the carrier, the teeth ofthe'gear providing entrance guides for the opposite side walls of saiddriving slot.

5. In a braiding machine having spacedapart upper and lower raceways, acarrier guided in both of said raceways, a set of twin gears havingstaggered gear teeth and operatively mounted intermediate said racewaysfor driving the carrier, said gears being slotted to engage a. portionof the carrier, the intermeshing staggered teeth of the gearscooperating to provide entrance guides for the opposite side walls ofsaid driving slot.

6. In a braiding machine, upper and lower raceways, a carrier havingguide members for each raceway arranged out of vertical alignment witheach other, and driving gears intermeshing with each other locatedintermediate said raceways and also arranged to engage and drive saidcarrier.

7. In a braiding machine having spaced upper and lower raceways, acarrier guided in both ot said i'aceways, a set gears intermeshingiwitheach othe and opeiativel mounteo i said raceways and slotted to receiveand drive said carrier, the teeth of said ge adjacent said slots beingstaggered arrai t to prevent. lost motion where the :airier is engagedtherewith.

8. In a braiding niacl'iine, a traveling carrier having an offset: gearengaging shank portion, a carrier driv ng ir having two sets orperipherai teeth t i l in staggered relation and sioti'ed to receivesaid offset portion. the intern'icsl o teeth 05'' each gear providingentrance 9 to said. slots on both of its opposite sine v:

S). In a braiding niaei ving spacedapart upper and lo a travellingoscillating carrier ha in a portion arranged to engag" he roger racewayand an offset portion arrange raceway a set driving k vith each otherrotating H Fr:

and mounted said race-ways said gears heir also slotted to engage anddrive or.

10. In a braiding 3 achine having spacedapart upper and lower raceways,a travelling oscillating carrier having a portion arranged to engage theupper raceway and an oti'set portion arranged to engage the lowerraceway, a train of intermeshing driving gears mounted intermediate saidraceways, each of said being slotted to engage and drive the carrier,and the interineshing teeth of the gear at the entrance oat its slotproviding flaring entrance guides thereinto.

11. In a braiding machine having spacedapart upper and lower raeeways,an OS- cillating carrier having a portion arranged to engage the upperraceway and an ofi set portion arranged to engage the lower raceway, aset of twin gears with staggered gear teeth mounted intermediate saidraceways. said gears being slotted to engage and drive the carrier andthestaggered intermoses? meshing teeth ot'each geara-t the entrance ofits siot cooperating to provide flaring entrance guides thereinto.

12. In a braiding machine having spacedapart upper and lower raceways,an oscillating carrier having a portion arranged to engage the upperracewa and an oliset portion arranged to engage the i-ower raceway, aset otdriving gears mounted intermediate said raceways, each of saidgears having two rows of staggered teetln and each -.r being slotted toreceive said offset portion of the carrier to drive it and the differentsets of the staggered teeth providing entrance guides for the oppositewalis of said driving slot.

13. In a braiding machine having spaced upper and lower ac-eways atravelling osiating carrier hav' a portion arranged o engage the upperrace my and an offset portion arranged to engage the lower raceway, atrain of driving gears mounted interi'nediate said raceways, each otsaid gears having two rows oi. staggered teeth each gear being slottedto receive said offset portion of the carrier to drive it and thedifferent sets of the staggered teeth providing entrance guides for ti oopposite walls of said driving slot, and said stagg red teethcooperating to engage each other the upper tooth on one side of the slotand the lower tooth on the opposite side thereof to prevent lost motionat the slots where the carriers pass through the gears.

14. In a braiding machine spaced upper and lower raceway plates, acarrier guided in the raceways of both of said plates, a set of rotatinggears intermeshing with each other and operatively mounted intermediatesaid plates for driving said carrier, and said carrier being providedwith an anti-friction bearing surface on that portion engaged by saidgears.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

GEQRGE F. MGCAHEY.

